ANN ARBOR -- When Derrick Green made his highly-anticipated arrival at Michigan last season, he did so at a weight that wasn't going to work.

Those are his words, not the coaching staff's. Not Brady Hoke's. Not running backs coach Fred Jackson's.

Green entered fall camp at 240 pounds, roughly 20 pounds heavier than he was when he starred as a senior at Hermitage (Va.) High School as the top-rated running back in the country.

Looking back on it now, Green says he was too heavy. So, before spring practice got going, Green did something about it.

"I'm down to 220, I went home from spring break at 227, I came back at 220 and I feel a lot better, faster and more explosive," Green said this week. "I couldn't come in at the same weight I did last season.

"I feel better, I'm just going to come out and be productive for my team."

Green said when last season ended, he met with Michigan strength and conditioning coordinator Aaron Wellman and told him he needed to find his way down to 220 pounds before spring ball began.

Wellman and staff gave him a plan that had him working out twice a day along with a strict diet.

It didn't take long to shed the weight, and now that he has, he says he feels like himself again.

"I feel faster, stronger," said Green, who struggled with his weight early in his high school career -- weighing around 270 pounds -- before changing his body. "My body just feels a lot better than it did last season."

Green says he'd like to remain at 220 pounds, no higher or lower, and doesn't believe the lost weight has taken anything away from the power game that defined him in high school.